CHICOPEE – An Air Force Reserve pilot who has more than 25 years of military experience and has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan officially took command of Westover Air Reserve Base Sunday.
Col. Christopher C. Holland, who most recently served as the commander of the 514th Air Mobility Wing located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, took over as head of the Chicopee Base in a relaxed and short ceremony in the base hanger.
Brig Gen. Gregory Buchanan left his post as the commander of Westover’s 439th Airlift Wing in June to become the director of Air Force Reserve plans, programs and requirements at the Pentagon, so Maj. Gen. Paul Fast, Fourth Air Force commander, presided over the event.
Both men thanked and applauded the more than 2,900 personnel for their work at the base. Staff includes full-time and traditional part-time reservists as well as civilians.
“Whether you fly, fix, support, or underpin all three by keeping us medically fit, we will continue to be ready and look for new ways to be ready, to deter, and if necessary, help defeat any threat to our nation,” Holland said.
Holland, who said he calls North Carolina home, said he spent 15 years on active duty before transferring to the Air Force Reserve. He has already started working at Westover and said his first step will be to get to know the staff and make sure everything is functioning well.
A total of eight C-5M Super Galaxy jets are assigned to the base. In the past year Westover mobilized nearly 9,000 airman, moved 44 tons of cargo and won multiple awards, Fast said.
But the base has also faced challenges with downsizing. A decade ago there were double the number of jets assigned to Westover.
“These things don’t just happen. They occur because of your dedication, your professionalism and leadership and guidance,” Fast told the reservists.
He warned them he did not expect things to slow down in the near future.
“In 2027 we may be called to bring our full force to bear in the western Pacific. That fight could determine not just the fate of Taiwan but the economic security of the entire Indo-Pacific and potentially the entire world,” Fast said.
He told the 439th members to prepare for war, serve as mentors to younger reservists and take training seriously because they are running out of time.
“The last three years has been a non-stop cycle of global ‘hold my beer and watch this’ moments forcing surges, mobilizations and deployments. That strain affects not only our aircraft, our airmen, our installations, it affects our families too,” he said. “We must be ready for that fight tonight and every fight including the ones at home.”
Holland said Westover’s job is to be ready to deploy when military commanders say it’s time to go and promised the wing will be prepared.
“We are facing a significant challenge in the Indo-Pacific region one that will require air mobility on a scale and a pace the world is not used to seeing,” Holland said. “If we can be ready to do our job in that we will be ready to answer any challenge around the world.”
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